Brake line caps/plugs?

[MarkY3130]

Well, let’s just say my day on Poison Spider Trail in Moab yesterday would have been better had I been carrying brake line caps/plugs. I seriously ran almost exactly half the trail with zero brakes to get back to the trail head. If you’ve done the trail, you know I had to do some pretty serious obstacles to get out. Thanks to the 4.10 transfer case reduction, having regeared the axles, and having a manual transmission, I was actually able to do it without anything getting out of control. It actually wasn’t too bad, and I’m convinced I could do the whole trail without brakes again. My wife kept looking at me and saying silly things like “you haven’t lived until you’ve done poison spider with no brakes,” or “we got bit by the poison spider.” We we’re still safe enough to have fun and still took most of the optional hard lines. I know this sounds totally crazy but we were still able to have a good time. Had to call a tow truck to come get us from the trailhead though.

Back to the topic- what do you guys carry for capping or plugging a brake line in the field? Is there a small kit out there or is it just a couple of threaded plugs?

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[MarkY3130]

Little more info for the curious.

I had an e-brake stick and by the time I noticed it was so hot I warped the rotor. I tried letting it cool down (before I knew it was warped) but when I went again it was clear the rotor had warped enough that it wouldn’t pass through the caliper. So I took the caliper off and taped it to the axle, put a wrench in there in an effort to keep the piston from over extending, and then taped it to the trackbar bracket/axle. Hard to explain, but it worked well to hold it there out of the way and clear of suspension travel. Problem was the wrench wasn’t thick enough, the piston eventually popped out, and before I knew it I lost all my brake fluid.

Hindsight is what it is, and I think I would have done a few things better if I could do it again. But in the moment I’m thinking about how to get off the trail and racing the clock before it gets dark and thinking about worst case needing to get a recovery 2.5 hours from the trail head in a location where you don’t have cell service. (I did have two other vehicles with me in our group)

 

[gato]

I know this is an old thread but I too am looking for an emergency brake line repair kit with caps/plugs, but I don't even know the JL's hard line size (3/16th?, 1/4"?, 3/8th?).

The common scenario I'd like to be prepared for is a brake hose/line being snapped off (e.g. by a tree branch being caught. I have had 2 Jeeps in my group had this happen to them. One time someone had a kit to plug the hard line on the affected wheel and he was able to continue (it was an XJ). The other time the Jeep was out of commission.

Does anyone know the JL's brake line size and/or a kit with the correct fittings/plugs for an emergency repair?

Also, is there a universal brake hose (soft line) spare that can be bought that would work in a pinch on all 4 corners?

Thanks.

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